1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for reduced hierarchy key management.
2. Background Art
Media (e.g., digital video, audio, combination video and audio, and the like) stream generation and distribution systems (e.g., cable systems) use keyed encryption and decryption to provide security to the media stream content (e.g., to reduce or prevent unauthorized use of or intrusion upon the media streams). Conventional products that are used to provide management of the encryption/decryption keys are generally unwieldy and expensive to implement and use.
In a typical, conventional media stream conditional access system (CAS), Category Keys or Session Keys are used to decrypt Entitlement Control Messages (ECMs) to obtain a Content Key or Control Word in the media stream. Each media program stream has a unique Content Key or Control Word.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system and a method for a reduced hierarchy key management that is lower in cost, easier to implement, and easier to use than conventional approaches.